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Monday, September 06, 2010

The Haute Food Co. @ Plaza Damas, Hartamas, Kuala Lumpur


illustrations by Sam Hepburn from www.samhepburn.com


Monday blues...don't we all have them especially after immensely fun weekends. Luckily we have television channels that bring on the comedies and places like The Haute Food Co. with their sweets to help us combat those oh-so-sad feelings.



decadent caramel pecan cheesecake


This place has been on the horizon for quite some time as my curiousity was piqued when Facebook friends moaned and groaned when they couldn't get their weekly dose of sticky date pudding. Sounded pretty awesome hence when I finally had the time, I slowly explored this place. It's kinda tucked away within the maze of Plaza Damas but once you get the directions right the first time, you can quickly find it.

a little sugar definitely perks up Monday, carrot cake and yoghurt crumble cake


In terms of ambiance, there's not much as it is a super small cafe (not big enough to swing a cat I reckon) and tables are cramped within the shop area. However, there are tables outside where you can dine al-fresco. It's super packed during lunch time with students from the nearby Taylors College, people from the offices and even Japanese housewives who live at the upstairs apartments.



the sticky date pudding with a caramel sauce my friends love


For savoury bites, you have a choice between the regular menu of grilled sandwiches, breakfast items (like eggs and fry ups), sandwiches or the daily menu specials. Most of the customers here are regulars hence they usually go for the daily menu specials that can be a choice for a soup, a vegetable tart, baked potato, stews and etc. If I am not mistaken, the daily specials are about RM15.90.


grilled sandwich of roast beef, caramelised onions, the Ollie, pumpkin and spinach tart


I do like their grilled sandwiches as it's pretty substantial and best of all, it comes with a nice crisp salad of cos lettuce leaves, cherry tomatoes and cucumbers. You get a choice of white, multigrain or ryebread for your sandwiches. The roast beef sandwich  (RM13.50) I tried is layered thickly with slices of roast beef and a generous portion of caramelised onions to give it flavour. The whole combination is finished with mizuna leaves to give it a slight peppery kick. While the club sandwich is not toasted, it is still gorgeous as it is served with a soft floury buns (I call them baps as they remind me of the ones from university days), grilled chicken breast, beef bacon, cheese, fried egg, mustard mayonnaise and caramelised onions (RM15.90). On other occasions, I've sampled the pumpkin and spinach tart (chockfull of chunks of pumpkin which I liked), the mushroom soup which was nice but a bit watered down and my friend sampled the baked potatoes which was a bit underseasoned.


scones and lemon poppy berry tartlets done Hipstamic style


For the sweet side of things, I found not everything tasted fantastic even though I applaud them for baking cakes the more naturel way (i.e. without lashings of cream and the atypical sponge cake). The sticky date pudding was very good with a scoop of ice cream especially served hot. A teeny weeny bit sweet at the end (when it gets a bit cold) but like a friend of mine put it, date puddings need to be sweet or else how would it tasted nice. I also sampled other cakes such as the carrot cake and the yoghurt crumble cake. Even though the carrot cake was a sight to behold with a super pretty topping of dried fruits and pumpkin seeds, a thick layer of cream cheese, chock full of chopped nuts in the cake, I felt the taste was very one dimensional as all I could taste was a lot of brown sugar within. The yoghurt crumble also looked enticing but didn't have much taste to it even though it had a nice soft texture especially after being warmed up. I did however strike gold with their caramel pecan cheesecake - a toothsome baked cheesecake variety with just the right soft texture with the balance of cream cheese within and a decadent caramel bits, pecan and chocolate chip topping. It was so good, I couldn't resist taking back another piece and even the girl next to my table decided to pack one home. My only gripe is the cheesecake is not always available since they do a rotation basis for the cheesecakes.


In conclusion, I do like this little place which I call my secret lunch hideout. It's especially pleasant if you avoid the crazy lunch crowd and partake in a late lunch so you can slowly savour the food and explore their sweets. Their scones are somewhat famous too, so that will definitely be on my next agenda provided I don't get distracted with other attractive sweets.

The Haute Food Co.
H-0-2, Block H
Plaza Damas
60, Jalan Sri Hartamas 1
Kuala Lumpur


Tel: 03-6201 3168


(Pork Free. The pretty illustrations are from Sam Hephurn who is based here, so contact vide http://www.samhepburn.com/. Open from 10am to 5pm. Closed on Tuesdays. For the Raya break, they are closed from 10 to 14 September. To get here, at the top level of Hartamas Shopping Centre, go through the glass doors. You will see Aji Don across the road. Cross road, keep right and turn right after the kopitiam. Walk down and when you see the blue and white awnings, this is Haute Food Co. For more pictures, see my Flickr set)

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here is entirely based on my personal tastebuds and may vary for others. This review is time sensitive; changes may occur to the place later on that can affect this opinion. The reviewer also declares that she has not received any monetary or non-monetary compensation from this place for writing the review.

Other bloggers review:

thenomadGourmand
JinDramaQueen
two front teeth
Ji Li Mi

26 comments:

  1. So cute one the illustrations!

    I just finished lunch not long ago but the caramel pecan cheesecake makes me feel gastronomically frustrated.

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  3. yeah, i've been wanting to try the scones and other stuff here for months, but their early closing hours have made it really difficult. wish they would stay open till at least 9pm. the caramel pecan cheesecake looks beautiful! :D

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  4. Oh call me, call me if you wanna do a late lunch here. It looks great and I really dun mind trekking across the city just for this. You had me at the caramel pecan cheesecake! :D

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  5. i do need this to kill my monday blues! esp the caramel pecan cheesecake! it's pretty!!!

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  6. shouldn't be too hard to locate even though I have no idea on the directions that you provided! If everything else fails, I'll ASK!

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  7. lol... that ilustration sure did put a smile on my face..

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  8. its no longer your secret lunch hideout now that you share it with the world. thanks :D

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  9. I like sticky date puddings and this one here looked pretty enticing!

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  10. hmm i just had to stumble in your blog and see the cakes.... i am so droolin.... :P

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  11. I hate Monday bluessssss.
    :(

    (Hmmmm, time for cake? *grin*)

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  12. looks good! will check this place out! eyeing on the cakes

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  13. U know, I've walked pass this place a few time, but never took the time to actually wait for a table to try it out. It's always packed!.

    The illustrations are gorgeous. Do you know if they open on weekends?

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  14. Their cakes looks good :)

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  15. Haute Food! Me and Mavis have been going there almost every weekend since we discovered the place...lol.

    Do try the banana cream pie and sicilian apple cake if you get the chance, it's fab.

    I love how the food is so down-to-earth, and it has really become my favourite lunch/tea hangout place.

    Closed this Raya for 5 days and I'm already suffering from withdrawal syndrome. Contemplating stocking up on the desserts beforehand, that's how bad I have it...lol!

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  16. Like the look of that sticky date pudding! Was gonna make some this week but it's on hold now till confinement's over :(

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  17. Hmmm..It's about time for us to pop down to sink my teeth into the juicy lamb wraps they have there :)

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  18. Went looking for it one afternoon only to find it closed. I guess I was unlucky. Lovely pics, as always.

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  19. I'm going to try this one! Starving today and those pictures look yummy

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  20. so nais! so this was the one that you were telling me and Su about! yarmie! xoxo

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  21. Great find, not exactly a fan of cloyingly sweet cakes and desserts, but some nutty creations will do just fine.

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  22. Michelle - ah yes, those illustrations seem to sum up that Monday blues feeling very well.

    Sean - I think after they close their doors, they bake as the lady told me sometimes they stay quite late.

    Life for Beginners - my lunches are often very very late though and on the spur of the moment.

    ai wei - hee hee, kill those blues indeed.

    leo - yes, I guess you can also ask. SMS if you're lost.

    tummy rumble - yes, it's whimsy yet so right.

    kampungboycitygal - oops, one can imagine loads of cameras coming here. It's always packed so be prepared for craziness.

    Pure Glutton - this one is sinfully good but on the sweeter side I find. Great with ice cream.

    Waves at Nekohime, nice to see you!

    J - I thot you prefer Prosecco?

    qwazymonkey - they're open weekends but not this Raya holiday though so sorry, you can't head here.

    Jason - very homey but some aren't so fantastic.

    Sooyin - yes, I'm referring to you and Mavis as both of you had me so curious abt it I had to chk it out. Thxs for the tips on the other things to try. Yes, so sad to hear it's closed for Raya.

    Congrats Baby Sumo on your baby!!! Never mind, wait for after confinement. Time to get pampered for a month.

    Unkaleong - hee hee, next time I try yr lamb wraps.

    LL - could have been Tuesday you went or during the time when the owner was sick.

    Au&Target - hee hee, finally something none mooncake!

    C&C - yeah, I did tell Su as I know she often checks out new places.

    j2kfm - this one even more difficult to find compared to Sumi Ka I think.

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  23. OOooo!! TQ fr remindin me of tis plc! LOL. It kinda slipped my mind. Yes yes, I definitel ywill be bacl to try the pecan cheesecake! Wil call 1st to make sure she has it! ;p

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  24. thenomadgourmand - yes, better call as this week they are closed for a few days to stock up supplies. Follow them on Facebook ok?

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  25. thanks for the mention!

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  26. Hi there! Li from the cafe mentioned that you'd blogged my work in your review. Thanks for that! I'm so thrilled that you liked the cards:)

    - from a fellow sticky date pudding lover

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